Tennessee candidates receive hefty PAC contributions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A newspaper analysis has found that candidates for contested seats in the Tennessee General Assembly have received an average of $43,000 from political action committees.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that PACs have given more than $5 million to legislative candidates so far in the 2008 election cycle. And that total is likely to grow amid last-minute contributions before a blackout on PAC contributions takes effect on Thursday.

The Tennessee Association of Realtors committee has been the most active so far. The Realtors PAC gave nearly $240,000 to state legislative candidates by the end of the most recent campaign finance reporting period.

That works out to an average of $2,000 for every candidate running for the General Assembly this year.

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